The Follower
by Crysania
Summary: Tumblr prompt: Belle is being followed by a flying monkey, and something about him seems so familiar. It's made clear when it starts leaving her gifts… (Written post 3x12)


They had been walking for almost two weeks by the time Belle had a sense that _something_ was following them. She and Neal had set off for the Dark Castle almost as soon as the others had broken through the protection spell around Snow's castle. There had been a vote and it had been decided. She and Neal would pursue her gut feeling that Rumplestiltskin was still alive somewhere. If he were alive, they all knew he would be of immense help. They had Regina and her magic, but hers was raw and she often reacted quickly and without thinking. Rumplestiltskin was their planner, their manipulator, his magic one of finesse and timing. She could see the looks on their faces as they contemplated bringing him back into their fold but Neal had reminded them, and thank the Gods for Neal, that Rumplestiltskin had sacrificed himself for _all_ of them and without that sacrifice they would be stuck in a Storybrooke ruled over by Peter Pan. Their memories would be gone and they would be slaves to someone far crueler than any who had come before.

Rumplestiltskin had made sure that wouldn't happen. Rumplestiltskin had been the one to sacrifice himself, not the often noble Snow or Prince Charming. They had stood by, frozen in place as she was, and watched the dramatic gesture as it played out.

And when she sank to the ground, her grief overwhelming her, there had been just a small tiny little tickle at the back of her mind. That little tickle had turned into a broad statement that had turned into hope. _I think we can get him back_.

So here they were, on an adventure of their own. She had always wanted an adventure, had always wanted to play the hero. Perhaps this time she would have that chance. Perhaps this time it would actually work out and not result in her getting kidnapped, tied up, or having her memories wiped.

She caught up to Neal as they rounded a bend. Yet another bend, really. She wondered how many more they would come to as they wended their way through the forest trails. Already they had risen several hundred feet, the air getting colder as they did so. She had forgotten how remote and frigid the area around Rumplestiltskin's castle could be. It was still autumn, but there was a chill in the air that caused her to wrap her cloak tightly around her body, desperately trying to retain any heat.

"Neal." She reached out a hand and touched his upper arm as she spoke.

He turned. "Belle, sorry. Do you need to rest?"

She shook her head and as he started to head off, gripped his arm harder.

"Belle?" And she laughed for a moment. Just a moment. He sounded so much like his father then, all exasperation and annoyance. He often seemed so very different from Rumplestiltskin, but there were times when the resemblance was strong. His protection of his family was fierce, as Rumplestiltskin's was, and she often thought he would have sacrificed himself to keep Emma and Henry safe. Just as his father had done for them.

"I think someone's following us."

Neal was instantly on alert, arrow notched on the bow one of Robin Hood's men had given him before they parted ways. He stepped around Belle and stared into the woods behind them. It was still daylight, for another couple hours at least, but already the sun was beginning to lower and the shadows were dense this deep in the forest.

They stood side by side for a long moment, studying the unmoving shadows. Finally, Neal shook his head, a releasing of the tension, and gave a short laugh. "I think you've been in this forest too long."

"Perhaps," Belle murmured, finally looking away from the shadows and glancing at the man who could have been her step-son, had life gone in a different direction, the _proper_ direction, the one where the future Rumplestiltskin had envisioned for them had happened.

He turned away from her scrutiny. "Come on, Belle. We'll find a place to rest for the night soon. Tomorrow we'll be at my father's castle. You'll rest easier then."

Sorrow took her for a moment. "I don't think I will, Neal. I haven't been back there in a great many years. There are…memories." Memories of a man who believed he was a monster sitting at a spinning wheel. Memories of a kiss that brought about disaster. Memories of those cold last hours spent in a dungeon, wondering how it had all gone wrong.

Neal's eyes narrowed on her in a way that reminded her strongly of the assessing looks his father sometimes gave her. "Say no more. I understand."

They continued on for another half an hour until Neal found a place he felt was properly concealed yet big enough to allow them to sleep comfortably, bedded down on grass instead of twigs and rocks.

Belle still felt tense as she went to gather kindling for their fire. Neal had a small axe that David had provided him with before they headed off. Without horses to spare, their journey to the Dark Castle would take days instead of hours, so the ability to make camp at night was important. While he set off deeper into the darkening woods to find a small tree to make use of, Belle set to her task.

She had gathered a small pile and was going deeper into the woods when she was _sure_ she heard something…again. She held her breath, allowing complete silence to reign for a moment. And then she heard it. A small rustling off to her left. "Neal?" She whispered her companion's name, not entirely surprised when she did not hear him respond.

Instead, there was another small rustling noise, stronger this time, more deliberate. "W…who's there?" She hated the way her voice stuttered on the words, but could any good really come of someone who hid from them in such a way?

She saw the hand snake out before the rest of the body, long fingers first and then the furry arm, as it pushed through the bushes. Finally the head poked out and Belle let out a quiet little shriek.

The creature, which appeared to be some species of primate, leapt back. If it had been human, she might have said it scrambled back out of fear. Could monkeys scramble in such a way? The creature was fairly small and delicate, covered in grey fur that, when the light hit it just right, seemed to sparkle with a sheen of gold. As it moved carefully into the light filtering through the trees, she realized that this particular primate had _wings_. Wings? She had never heard of such a creature but in a land riddled with ogres, with chimeras, with griffons, could it be so unheard of for monkeys to have wings? It seemed not. The proof was right in front of her that it was possible.

The little creature hopped forward, its wings carrying it further than expected with the one hop. It was then that Belle realized it held something in its arms, cradling whatever it was close to its body. She backed up slightly as it came close. Her eyes met the creature's and she felt a strange jolt go through her, as if she had seen it somewhere before. And then it looked away, deposited its bundle at her feet.

Wood. The little creature had brought her kindling.

Belle took a step toward it and it skittered away from her, baring its sharp pointed teeth at her. "I…thank you." Belle retreated and the creature gave her one last look, a small nod of its head, before leaping into the air and taking to flight.

She took in a deep breath. Let it out. Then once more.

"Did you get some wood, Belle?" Neal's voice was loud after the near-silent exchange with the monkey.

She quickly gathered up the few pieces of wood she had found, along with the larger pile the winged monkey had brought her, and headed back to Neal. Another night around the fire for them, swapping stories of his father, her true love. By now Neal knew nearly the entirety of her story with his father. _Beauty and the Beast_ he called it and told her that in the other world, there were books and movies based on it. She had listened with wide eyes as he described some of the most popular. _Only the Beast was a lot hairier than my Papa_. She supposed that Rumplestiltskin _had _been beastly, but he certainly hadn't been a large and frightening hairy monster. The thought had made her giggle. She wondered if Rumplestiltskin's alter ego knew of the movie. Somehow she suspected he hadn't as the way he described Mr. Gold left her with an impression of coldness and disconnect with the world around him.

Not like her Rumplestiltskin who had manipulated so much of everyone's lives. He was involved, even if it was an outsider.

She settled in for their evening, wrapped deeply in her cloak, while Neal got the fire going and offered her a bit of bread that had gone stale and some of the cheese he had stored in his pack. It would be a long night, huddled by the fire.

But soon they would reach the Dark Castle.

She wasn't sure if she really wanted to.

* * *

The next morning the monkey appeared twice. The first time Neal had gone off because "nature called" and they had been on the road enough that she didn't even blink twice at the phrase. The first time she had blushed, realizing his meaning rather quickly, but now it was just part of being on the road with someone. Nature called _her_ too, after all.

She had been putting out the fire, shoveling dirt onto it with the one large, flat rock she had found, when she heard a rustle off to her right.

The monkey crept out of the brush, more subdued than the day before, wings folded tightly over its back. He looked…dejected, somehow. Its eyebrows were drawn up, wrinkling its forehead, and if it had been human, she might have called the look regretful, perhaps even a bit longing. It made her heart jolt, just a little. Its hands were cupped together, the furry appendages obviously hiding something.

The monkey approached and opened its palms, berries that it had apparently gathered up falling down onto the ground near where she knelt. She reached out and picked one up. Blackberries. She hadn't seen any in the surrounding vicinity and she wondered where he'd found them. "For me?" The creature leaned forward and there was such an earnest look in its eyes that she could not resist popping the fruit into her mouth.

She was almost sure, in that moment, that she saw a slight crooked grin on the creature's face, saw the sharp teeth bared for a moment before its face turned serious again. She held up a hand toward it and it flinched away, backed up slightly, as if it were used to being hit. "May I?"

Her hand was extending out toward the creature, intending to touch the soft fur on the side of its face, when they heard the sound of a branch snap, footsteps. The monkey leapt up and fled into the bushes, back to where ever it came from. Belle sighed.

"Are you ready to go?"

Belle stared at where the creature had disappeared, wondering if it still hid out there and watched them. With a sigh, she gathered up the berries and tucked them into a pocket of her cloak. "Yes. Yes I think so."

They traveled for several hours, mostly in silence. The higher they climbed, the harder it got on them both. The air thinned as they entered the higher reaches of the mountains. Belle found herself having to stop more often to catch her breath, to rest. Neal left her several times to scout out the area ahead of them while she rested, back up against a tree.

He was leaving nothing to chance. He knew his father well. He knew the castle would have been protected before the curse was cast and he took no chances with the possibility of their stumbling across some magic or a creature protecting it. Belle half wondered if the winged monkey were there to protect the castle, but it seemed more there to encourage than to hinder.

The creature had reappeared during each of Neal's absences. Once it swooped down and stole her empty canteen, returning a short while later with it filled to the brim. Another time it crept out with more berries, pushing them into her lap, insistent that she eat them. _I'm not hungry_. But it had given her such a look, so human in its exasperation as it crossed its arms over its chest and narrowed its eyes at her, that she had forced herself to eat some for its sake.

On Neal's latest scouting trip, the creature had appeared again. It now simply landed at her side, sitting on its haunches and looking up at her. Belle squatted down next to it and was pleased to see it only back up a pace. It had only been yesterday that it first made its appearance, but already it seemed to be less shy with her. But the way it tried to take care of her led her to unhappy conclusions for the little creature. Her voice was quiet, tiny, when she spoke to it. "Do you think I'm your mate?"

The monkey's eyes widened and it would have been comical if not for the fact that in that moment it reminded her so strongly of her lost love, that she felt the tears form in the corner of her eyes. She remembered his wide eyes, the constant look of fear that was etched onto his face when she spoke words of love. _I'll lose you someday. In time you'll see the monster, Belle…and you'll leave me. As you should have long ago…_

The monkey took to flight and Belle watched it disappear into the distance, a sad smile on her face.

"We'll be there before nightfall," Neal said as he returned. "It seems the path ahead is clear."

Belle's eyes stayed trained on the distance for just another moment before turning back to the man who would have been her step-son. "Good."

Neal moved closer to her. "Are you alright?"

She shook her head. "Yeah I'm fine. Just…remember that feeling of being followed I had?"

Neal's eyebrows rose. "Did you see something?"

"Not exactly." She closed her eyes for a moment. "Nevermind. Let's just keep going." She wasn't sure she was ready to voice her suspicions. She wasn't even sure what to _do_ about those suspicions, really.

* * *

They spent the next two hours walking in silence. They were both exhausted, caught up in their own thoughts. Neal had been to the castle only once and it was a stopover on his way to Neverland to rescue Emma and Henry. Belle had not been back for many years, though 28 of those years had been spent in a fog. Yet they both agreed it was, in a way, _home_.

When it finally came into view, they both stopped and stared, momentarily awed. "I'm not sure I'm ready for this," Belle murmured.

Neal nodded but said nothing. She was glad of that. A moment of silence for their lost loved one. They both knew, somewhere deep in their hearts, that he was out there _somewhere_. But the journey to find him, if it was even possible, could take months, years even. Or they may never find out what had happened to him, leaving Belle to her lonely existence and Neal fatherless.

"We'll find him," Neal finally said, the words resolute.

Belle found the corner of her mouth quirking up in a smile. "It seems you're as stubborn as your father."

"Stubbornness runs in my family." He sounded vaguely amused, before uttering the next words. "But so does darkness…"

Belle held up a hand. "No talk of that now. Not after everything."

"Yeah," Neal said and she watched him run his fingers through his hair in a gesture she had seen Rumplestiltskin make many times. "After everything."

The small rustle in the woods behind them caused the slight smile on Belle's face to widen and Neal to shift suddenly in alarm. His hand went instantly to the arrows in the quiver and had one notched and ready to go before the little creature appeared in the clearing.

"Wait!" Belle cried, rushing out in front of him, holding her hands up and facing him. "Don't." For a tense moment, Neal kept the bow up, the arrow ready to fire. And then he shifted slightly, lowering it, though he did not drop it completely. Belle breathed a small sigh of relief. "This is what has been following us."

"A monkey?"

"With wings," Belle confirmed. Neal leaned out and looked past her at the creature. He muttered a curse word and lifted the bow again.

"What are you doing?"

"Don't you know _anything_ about flying monkeys?" He pulled back on the bow, the string drawing tight, the arrow ready to let fly. "Get out of the way Belle."

"No." Her hands were still held up.

"Belle…"

"I will not let you shoot him. Put the arrow away, Neal. Please. He means us no harm." There was no motion from him for a moment before he took a deep breath and slowly released the tension on the bow, putting the arrow back into the quiver. "Are you sure?"

She didn't answer him, instead turning back toward the creature who had been so vigilantly taking care of her. One of his hands was behind his back and when he met her eyes, he drew forth the rose he had been hiding and held it out to her. _Here…if you'll have it…_

Belle's eyes widened. "You _are_, aren't you?"

The creature didn't move, just kept the rose held out in front of it. Belle reached out, grasped the rose, brushing the hairy hand briefly as she did so. A jolt ran through her. She knew.

She _knew_.

"You are." And she was certain this time, perhaps more certain of this than anything else. She stepped toward him and he did not retreat this time, holding his ground with his thin hairy arms held loosely at his side. His wings drooped and she saw the edges of pain around his eyes. Why hadn't she noticed them before? She knew those eyes. She knew them well. But it had been a long time since she had seen _those_ particular eyes. Perhaps the intervening years and the soft brown ones she had come to know had kept her from recognizing the strange, otherworldly eyes of her imp.

"Well," she muttered. "I once heard of a princess who kissed a frog…" She took two quick steps forward and grabbed the creature about each side of his homely little face. "Gods, I better be right." But she knew she was. As soon as her lips met the strange winged creature's she felt that rush again. Magic wrapped around her, around the creature and as he pulled back, the air around him shimmered, the glamour spell dropping suddenly.

She was left holding a very confused, very _naked_ Rumplestiltskin. "Wha…"

"Papa?" Neal rushed forward, his cloak already off, and draped it around his father. One of Rumplestiltskin's greyish-green hands came up to push the curling hair out of his eyes and Belle reached out to grab his hand, pull it in close to her, a lifeline of sorts between them.

"He's still the Dark One?" Neal asked, eyebrows drawn up.

"Apparently."

Rumplestiltskin opened his eyes, his gaze somewhat unfocused as he narrowed his eyes on her. "Belle?"

"Rumple." The word came out in a whisper as she gripped his hand tighter. "You remember me."

"How are you here?" Belle started to open her mouth to explain. A small shudder wracked his body and for a moment, just a moment, his eyes cleared. "No…wait…I remember."

"Good." She wanted to hug him, wanted to kiss him again, wanted to cradle his cold body as a few more tremors shook him.

His eyes shut briefly and finally he looked around him. "Bae," he whispered. "You came for me?"

Neal knelt down at their side, touching his father's shoulder briefly. "Of course I did Papa. Me and Belle. We were heading to your castle to find a way to you."

"It appears I found you first." His mouth quirked up slightly on one side, the first genuine smile she had seen from him.

"You always do," Belle whispered, leaning toward him to press her forehead to his. "I can't kiss you here, can I?"

His eyes were wide as he drew back slightly. "I…"

"It's fine."

"It's not. I don't know. I don't even know how I'm here. Or what I am. Or even where we are..." He shook his head again and looked around him.

"We're not far from your castle," Neal chimed in with.

Rumplestiltskin twisted slightly, finally seeing the castle off in the distance. "Ah…so we are."

"It's going to be dark soon. We should get going." Neal stood after speaking, stepping away from them. Belle was sure he was giving them a bit of privacy.

"Can you stand?" Belle pushed back from her knees and held out a hand to him.

"I think so. Yes." Rumplestiltskin wrapped the cloak tightly around himself with one hand while accepting Belle's with a rather rueful smile. She helped draw him to his feet and instantly Neal was there with another hand to steady him.

"Can you…I don't know…magic up some clothes?" Neal leaned close to his father as he spoke, glancing briefly at Belle, his embarrassment obvious.

"It's nothing she's not seen before," Rumplestiltskin pointed out, rather unhelpfully Belle thought as she felt her cheeks redden.

"Not in this guise." Belle couldn't stop herself from smirking at her own words.

Rumplestiltskin gave a small bark of laughter. "I think I'd rather stay away from magic until we're someplace safe. I didn't turn into that creature on my own, after all." The pants and extra pair of boots Neal passed him didn't quite fit, but at least they were something warm and dry for the time being. The cloak he wrapped around his upper body, a bit of armor against the world. At least until they could get him back into the Dark Castle. Hopefully some of his clothing returned with the ending of the curse.

"What _is_ going on?" Neal asked.

Rumplestiltskin shook his head and for a moment Belle felt a shiver of fear race through her. She had never seen him look so shaken up. "Not here. We'll talk when we're safe."

Together the three of them headed out for the last bit of distance to the castle, huddled close together, Rumplestiltskin between his true love and his son. It seemed she wouldn't have to worry about old memories haunting her at the castle after all. They would make new memories as they fought to reclaim this world from whatever foe was after them now.


End file.
